Blondies...when brownies just won't cut it

In the last 24 hours, I've made 4 batches of Blondies. I went on a quest to develop a simple and superlative recipe, something that was both easy to make and tasty yet a little more complex than the blondies I've had of late. There's an excellent, 4-ingredient recipe by Mark Bittman from How to Cook Everything that I used as a check for my recipe development. I wanted to take that idea of a blondie, add a few things to it, adjust ratios, and end up with a recipe of more depth of flavor and a sure-fire gooey middle, which I covet in both blondies and brownies.

If you've been reading Cake and Commerce lately, you may have noticed that I've been on a whiskey kick and have been adding it as an ingredient to just about everything I've been making, from sweet to savory. This is no different. There's 1 T of scotch in this recipe. A blended whisky or whiskey will be just fine - try to avoid whisky with heavy smoked peat flavor or you may end up enjoying a blondie that tastes like it just came off a bbq.

I looked at a number of recipes online and looked at ratios - I always look at ratios. After thinking about the attributes I like in a blondie (good bottom crust and crinkly top crust, a wet and gooey but not oozy middle, and the balance of sweet, butterscotch, and salt) I played with a couple different methods, including an approach that involved making a quasi-caramel before blending with the eggs (it turned out very cakey but had a nice glazed top. It definitely needs to be underbaked to taste more 'brownie-like').

Here's the recipe I ended up with. I use only a small amount of scotch (Bittman recommends significantly more in his recipe, but personally that's a little strong - I want a hint of butterscotch, not a sledgehammer to the palate), I increase the egg content, add only a few more tablespoons of flour, and use coarse salt in place of regular salt. I don't play with the add-ins - I think a cook should add in ingredients at his or her own discretion - different types of chips, nuts, or candies aren't going to change the recipe much.

I made this recipe by hand - no stand mixer or food processor were involved. Try it and let me know what you think.Blondies (with a kiss of scotch)yield: 1 8x8 baking pan

Immediately pour into a prepared or non-stick baking pan. Bake for 15-22 minutes (I realize now the oven I used wasn't calibrated correctly, so I'm leaving a LOT of room for you to decide when your blondies are done). Centers should be wet, but not oozy. Reduce baking time if using a convection oven, and for wetter centers, reduce cooking time by 2-4 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Chocolate chips can be replaced by 3/4 cups of just about anything - or more, if a chunkier blondie is desired.

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Blondies...when brownies just won't cut it

In the last 24 hours, I've made 4 batches of Blondies. I went on a quest to develop a simple and superlative recipe, something that was both easy to make and tasty yet a little more complex than the blondies I've had of late. There's an excellent, 4-ingredient recipe by Mark Bittman from How to Cook Everything that I used as a check for my recipe development. I wanted to take that idea of a blondie, add a few things to it, adjust ratios, and end up with a recipe of more depth of flavor and a sure-fire gooey middle, which I covet in both blondies and brownies.

If you've been reading Cake and Commerce lately, you may have noticed that I've been on a whiskey kick and have been adding it as an ingredient to just about everything I've been making, from sweet to savory. This is no different. There's 1 T of scotch in this recipe. A blended whisky or whiskey will be just fine - try to avoid whisky with heavy smoked peat flavor or you may end up enjoying a blondie that tastes like it just came off a bbq.

I looked at a number of recipes online and looked at ratios - I always look at ratios. After thinking about the attributes I like in a blondie (good bottom crust and crinkly top crust, a wet and gooey but not oozy middle, and the balance of sweet, butterscotch, and salt) I played with a couple different methods, including an approach that involved making a quasi-caramel before blending with the eggs (it turned out very cakey but had a nice glazed top. It definitely needs to be underbaked to taste more 'brownie-like').

Here's the recipe I ended up with. I use only a small amount of scotch (Bittman recommends significantly more in his recipe, but personally that's a little strong - I want a hint of butterscotch, not a sledgehammer to the palate), I increase the egg content, add only a few more tablespoons of flour, and use coarse salt in place of regular salt. I don't play with the add-ins - I think a cook should add in ingredients at his or her own discretion - different types of chips, nuts, or candies aren't going to change the recipe much.

I made this recipe by hand - no stand mixer or food processor were involved. Try it and let me know what you think.Blondies (with a kiss of scotch)yield: 1 8x8 baking pan

Immediately pour into a prepared or non-stick baking pan. Bake for 15-22 minutes (I realize now the oven I used wasn't calibrated correctly, so I'm leaving a LOT of room for you to decide when your blondies are done). Centers should be wet, but not oozy. Reduce baking time if using a convection oven, and for wetter centers, reduce cooking time by 2-4 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Chocolate chips can be replaced by 3/4 cups of just about anything - or more, if a chunkier blondie is desired.